To Kent Thompson, the National Theatre Conservatory was the best-kept secret in Denver. And that may have been its downfall. But even if you've never heard of it, if you attend theater in Colorado, you will notice when it's gone.

The NTC is a 28-year old master's program in acting under the umbrella of the Denver Center Theatre Company, and it is the only school of its kind ever chartered by Congress. Next month, the final eight of 255 alumni will graduate into the worlds of theater, film, television and theater education.

To senior Matt Zambrano, who says the NTC "is as much a part of me as blood, bones and breath," the closure is a tragedy.

"I understand that education and the arts in this country both have sniper scopes aimed at them for financial reasons," said Zambrano, 29, a nationally accomplished slam poet who graduated from Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Colorado. "With the economy being what it is, it's understandable. But what was most troubling was that there was no room for dialogue. It was made very apparent to us that, at the end of the day, it's a business, and businesses are designed make money. And to any actor or artist, that is hard to accept."

The NTC has consistently ranked among the top five graduate acting programs in the nation, with students benefiting from working alongside members of the DCTC, and the theater company benefiting from in-house talent. These students not only help fill up larger-cast productions, but often take on lead roles in plays from "House of the Spirits" to "A Midsummer Nights Dream" to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" to "The Liar."

What's more, NTC alumni have founded or run local companies, including the Shadow Theatre, Creede Repertory Theatre and the handicapped company PHAMALy. Many grads stay to teach theater in area schools, and many more perform for local companies throughout the state.

It was a point of pride that the NTC was a full-scholarship program, so that it could compete for the best candidates from around the nation. The cost came to about $104,000 per student at a time when many graduate programs are cutting back to partial scholarships. Most grad schools are affiliated with universities that share costs, "and that really put us in a bind," said Thompson, the Denver Center's artistic director, "because that left us to fully support the program."

The NTC was one of only two remaining master's programs affiliated with a regional theater, and is the third to announce its closure in the past three years.

Denver Center chairman Daniel Ritchie said charging students to keep the school afloat was never an option — if the NTC ever became a revenue-producing school, it would have lost its mission.

That all helped make the NTC the "Field of Dreams" of graduate schools, said Thompson — with an economic twist.

"The 'Field of Dreams' concept no longer works," Thompson said. "That is, 'If we do it, and do it well, they will come and support it.' It doesn't work that way anymore."

Closing the NTC will mean about $750,000 in annual savings to the Denver Center. Thompson will spend about a third of that savings replacing what he got for free from the NTC students, including understudy duties. A silver lining, said Thompson: "Clearly we'll be reaching out to the local community of actors more than we ever have before."

The Denver Center has always chosen to keep its NTC students ensconced in a three-year learning cocoon, so very little marketing was ever done to educate theatergoers or the local community about what a valuable resource it represented. "And that was a huge strategic mistake on our part," Thompson said, because when the economy collapsed, the NTC became an expensive point of pride.

Thompson puts it this way: His theater company has made the development of new plays the cornerstone of its mission. And while it costs him about $450,000 a year for new-play development, "we bring in about $450,000 a year in specific contributions for new-play development," he said.

On the other hand, the Denver Center brings in only about $30,000 in contributions for the NTC — which covers only about 2.4 percent of the annual budget. "The NTC is a noteworthy program with a lot of working alumni, but we just weren't able to attract the kind of endowment support it would have taken to maintain the program," he said.

Thompson admits the closing of the NTC will change the nature and state of the DCTC's current resident company of actors. "And it will be a difficult transition," he said.

Right now, the resident company is made up of a small group of popular, veteran actors, all over age 40. The loss of readily available NTC students, Zambrano predicts, means that "now they are either going to have to begin to form a pseudo-company of young actors from New York or from Denver — or you will have to go with smaller-cast shows with mostly older characters."

Thompson promises the loss of the NTC won't affect his choice of plays, pointing to four shows on next season's slate that call for large-sized casts.

For the remaining NTC students — the last class — a sense of bittersweetness hangs in the air as they perform their final two plays this week.

Zambrano finds "Fahrenheit 451" to be "a very interesting story to tell given our situation here," he said. "It's a story about a society where books are banned and critical thinking is outlawed. One isn't supposed to think about the world around them and instead simply accept what is given to them."

Thompson looks at these performances as a way to celebrate what the NTC was "and what it will continue to contribute to the American theater.

"I expect that the graduates that have come out of the NTC will continue to flourish and continue to be major theater artists in this country, as well as in film and television," he said. "I think we need to honor that legacy and tradition."

But the NTC will soon join a growing list of local theaters that have folded in the past year, including Paragon, the 100-year-old Victorian Playhouse and others.

"People should take a critical look at why that is happening," Zambrano said. "I can guarantee that at the end of each one of them is a dollar sign."

The National Theatre Conservatory's 2012 graduating class

National Theatre Conservatory's "Fahrenheit 451": Ticket information

Through April 21: In Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires -- they start them to burn books because reading is illegal. In a society where thinking is banned one fireman must choose between suppression and desire, to defend or destroy the world he knows. Directed by Sabin Epstein. Playing in repertory with "Charley's Aunt" (see below).
Remaining showtimes: 6:30 p.m. April 18. 7:30 p.m. April 14 and 20. 1 p.m. April 21
At the Conservatory Theatre, 1101 13th St., 303-893-4100 or the denver center's home page

National Theatre Conservatory's "Charley's Aunt": Ticket information

Through April 21: In this comedy, a simple lunch between friends turns into an afternoon of high speed hilarity. Add a man in a dress, an aunt from Brazil, one randy uncle and a dash of love on the run. Directed by Larry Hecht. Plays in repertory with "Farenheit 451" (see above).
Remaining showtimes: 6:30 p.m. April 17 and 19; 7:30 p.m. April 13; 1:30 p.m. April 14; 7 p.m. April 21
At the Conservatory Theatre, 1101 13th St., 303-893-4100 or the denver center's home page

The National Theatre Conservatory: What is it?

• The conservatory is a three-year, Master of Fine Arts training program that includes an apprenticeship with the Denver Center Theatre Company.

• The NTC is the only congressionally chartered MFA program in U.S. history. The charter was granted in 1935 as part of the Federal Theater Project. The charter means the NTC exists by an act of U.S. law, but comes with no obligation for federal funding. It's essentially a philosophical endorsement of its existence. To read the actual charter, dated July 5, 1935, explaining how and with what goals the NTC was started, click here

• The conservatory, first known as the American National Theatre and Academy, was, in effect, the national theater company of the United States, operating its own Broadway theater for 30 years (now the August Wilson Theater). When that company's influence dried up, Denver Center founder Donald Seawell transferred its charter and remaining resources here and reopened it as the NTC master's program in 1984.

• Each year, up to 10 new students from around the world were admitted through a national audition process that in 2010 drew 510 applicants, up from 465 the previous year.

• Students receive full scholarships of $26,100 a year, plus a living stipend of $240 a week the first two years and $280 the third.

• The total value of each scholarship is about $104,000. The Denver Center pays for everything but housing, at a combined annual cost of about $750,000.

• Students are not allowed to work outside jobs except in the summer, when many are on the faculty of the Denver Center Academy, which serves about 50,000 area residents a year.

National Theatre Conservatory: Recent success stories

John Behlmann (2006): Will appear in McCarter Theatre Center's world premiere of John Guare's "Are You There, McPhee?" from May 4-June 3. Also national TV spokesperson for Dairy Queen.

Sarah Wayne Callies (2000): Plays Lori Grimes on "Walking Dead"

Mat Hostetler (2009): Appeared on NBC's "Smash," and was just cast for the national touring production of "War Horse" coming to Denver in January.

Steven Cole Hughes: (2000): As a playwright: Won Denver Post Ovation Award for having his complete "Billy Trilogy," a surreal series of plays about an Old West gunslinger and his prostitute, staged at Creede Repertory Theatre. As an actor, he'll appear in Colorado Springs TheatreWorks' "Mary Stuart" from April 19 through May 6.

ONLINE EXTRAS:

Video: Matt Zambrano's "Finding Phoenix"

The National Theatre Conservatory: A first-person introduction

In an attempt to help the people of Denver understand what it loses when the NTC closes, 2010 graduate Sean Lyons, pictured at right, prepared this detailed introduction explaining what the NTC is, and why its survival should matter to everyone who lives here. "We matter," he puts in simply, "because we can change the world." Click here

Audio: Listen to a little ... or a lot

Listen to Dan Drayer of Colorado Public Radio interview John Moore about the 2010 announcement of the National Theater Conservatory's impending closure. Run time: 4 minutes. Click here

Listen to excerpts from John Moore's 2010 interview with Denver Center Chairman Daniel L. Ritchie, addresssing many more aspects to the closure of the National Theater Conservatory. Run time: 22 minutes. Click here

MOST RECENT THEATER OPENINGS

National touring production of "Wicked"

Opening Wednesday, April 11, through May 20: This Broadway hit imagines what happens long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland. Here two girls meet in the land of Oz. One (born with emerald green skin) is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good is what propels this enduring favorite. When "Wicked" last played Denver in 2009, it broke box office records and sold out in record time.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays; also 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, plus April 12
At the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or the denver center's home page and here's our story on superfan mike meko

National touring production of "Rhythm of the Dance"

Opening Thursday, April 12, through April 14: This production by the National Dance Company of Ireland has played to more than 5 million people in 33 countries. It features 15 dancers, three tenors and seven instrumentalists. The show combines traditional Irish dance, costumes, music and song in a production for all ages.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
At the Magnolia Theatre, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or lctix's home page

Millibo Art Theatre's "Six Women Playwriting Festival"

Opening Thursday, April 12, through April 29: Six winning plays chosen from more than 200 submissions will be given full stagings.
Showtimes: 7 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays (no show April 13); 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
1367 Pecan St., Colorado Springs, 719-685-4729 or the mat's home page

Performance Now's "Camelot"

Opening Friday, April 13, through April 29: Classic Lerner and Lowe musical in which the entire community of Camelot
awaits the arrival of Guenevere, King Arthur of England's future Queen.
In the end, it is 14-year-old Tom who tells the world of Camelot's quest
for right and honor and justice. Numbers include "The Lusty Month of
May" and "If Ever I Would Leave You."
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; also 7:30 p.m. April 26
Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 or performance now's home page

PHAMALy's "disLabled"

Opening Friday, April 13, through April 15: Now in its 23nd season, PHAMALy is a theater company comprised entirely of performers with physical challenges. From the creators of PHAMALy's annual sketch-comedy "Vox" shows comes this original comedy about living with a visual impairment or other differently-abled condition. These are PHAMALy's first performances in Boulder.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
At the Dairy Center for the Performing Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-575-0005 or phamaly's home page

Miners Alley Playhouse's "The Two of Us"

Opening Friday, April 13, through May 20: This compilation of four vignette comedies by Michael J. Frayn ("Copenhagen") explores the complexities of love and marriage in the modern world. Like Frayn's most popular work, "Noises Off," the playlets emphasize comic timing and farcical situations.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 6 p.m. Sundays (except final Sunday, when curtain is at 2 p.m.)
1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or map's home page

Aurora Fox's "Annie"

Opening Friday, April 13, through April 22: Annie is a spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents, who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie foils her evil machinations, befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and finds a new family and home in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell and a lovable mutt named Sandy. Songs include: "Tomorrow," "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." This production is produced by the Aurora Fox and presented at the PACE Center in Parker.
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
Note: At the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker, 303-805-6800 or PACE's home page

Steel City's "Cabaret"

Opening Friday, April 13, through April 29: Kander & Ebb's classic musical set in a 1920s Berlin nightclub starring Miss Sally Bowles, where an American writer is coming of age and an era of indulgence and ambiguity are coming to an end with the rise of the Nazi Party. Musical numbers include "Willkommen" and "Don't Tell Mama."
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 pm. Sundays
At Central High School, 216 E. Orman Ave., Pueblo, 719-994-8298, or steel city's home page

Spotlight and Firehouse Theaters' "Forever Plaid"

Opening Friday, April 13, through May 13: Nostalgic, family friendly musical about four dead teens whose dreams of musical glory come true when they miraculously return to Earth. Snuffed out during a collision with a school bus on their way to the big break, these nerdy crooners get a chance to perform the show they never got to do in life. The music from the 1950s and '60s includes "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Sixteen Tons."
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 6:30 p.m. April 22; 2 p.m. May 6
John Hand Theatre, 7653 E. 1st Pl., 303-562-3232 or firehouse's home page

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story